


The Pack Survives Together

by Northern_Lady



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series)
Genre: Family Feels, Grandparents & Grandchildren, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, One Shot, Past Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:07:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28514679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Northern_Lady/pseuds/Northern_Lady
Summary: Tory learns the truth about her connection to her Sensei and gains an ally.
Relationships: John Kreese & Tory
Comments: 1
Kudos: 27





	The Pack Survives Together

Tory arrived at the Dojo with fresh bruises. It was early. None of the other students would be there yet and she was glad of that. And she was glad she had gotten away this time. Her breathing was still panicked as she pushed through the glass door and she fought to gain control of it. She had no room for fear. 

Tory tried not to drip blood on the mats as she crossed the room to the paper towel dispenser in the open bathroom. Sensei Kreese stepped out of the backroom before she could get there. 

“Tory?” He said easily as he surveyed the state of her injuries. She had a bloody nose and was walking with a limp. He reached for a handful of paper towels himself and crossed the distance between them. “You’ll be needing these.” 

“Thank you Sensei,” she said, a little surprised at the gesture. 

“You don’t have to call me Sensei when we’re not in class.” Kreese said as Tory began to try and stop the bleeding. “There’s another title that would be appropriate for you.” 

Tory gave him a funny look but didn’t question it just yet. She waited for his explanation. 

“You see, Tory Nichols, a long time ago I had a girlfriend by the name of Betsy Nichols. I went away to war and she was killed in a car accident. No one told me until years later that she had a baby while I was gone…a baby who was raised by her brother and his wife.” 

Tory took a step back from disbelief and had to stop due to the pain in her ankle. “You’re not serious?” Her grandma was named Betsy, that much rang true. 

“By the time I met your father he was already sixteen years old and didn’t want me in his life. I think it might not be too late for you. It might be that you could appreciate a grandfather who can help you learn to defend yourself and can deal with threatening landlords.” 

“That was you?” She asked, a little stunned that he had been the one to fix her landlord problems. 

He shrugged it off. “What happened that you got a bloody nose just now?” 

“Just some jerks at the mall,” she tried her best to downplay it. Kreese, or maybe grandpa, didn’t like weakness. She didn’t want him to know how afraid she had been. 

“How many jerks at the mall?” His eyes narrowed. 

“Five. I bruised a few of them pretty good, and then… I got out of there…” She hated admitting that she had run. 

“Then they weren’t just trying to rob you, they wanted something more, something worse,” he said, understanding. 

Tory nodded, blinking back her tears. It had been too close a call. She had somehow gotten pinned down and nearly hadn’t gotten one of the guys off of her. 

Kreese reached across the space between them and touched the shoulder of her shirt where the sleeve was torn at the seam. 

“They tore your shirt,” Kreese said with more concern than she had judged he was capable of. 

Tory braced herself. At any moment he was going to lecture her on being weak. He was going to tell her she should have struck harder, stood her ground, and not run. It was already difficult enough with her heart still racing from what had happened and the pain in her ankle too. She wasn’t sure she couldn’t handle his anger too. 

But Kreese didn’t lecture her or berate her, he did something she never would have predicted. “Who were they? I will take care of them myself.” 

Tory let out a gasp, both from surprise at his words and because she was collapsing on an ankle that could no longer hold her weight. Kreese caught her before she hit the floor and carried her to a chair in the office. He set her in the chair, passed her some new tissues, and grabbed an ice pack from the mini fridge. 

“So who were they, the jerks at the mall?” 

“You’re not mad that I couldn’t beat them?” Tory asked, just needing to know the answer. 

He sat down on the desk and crossed his arms. “I got one of your strands of hair a month ago and had a DNA test done to be sure. Now that I’m sure, family is family. If anyone had tried to hurt my Betsy back in the day, I would have defended her with my life. The same goes for you. If you need something, whether that’s rent money or food or help caring for your mom, I will find a way to take care of it. You’re not on your own anymore, kid.” 

Tory let out a breath. For so long she had been handling everything alone. Working two jobs, taking care of her mom and brother, worrying about bills and groceries, and having no one to carry any of the burden. “You’re not serious?” She finally said. He couldn’t possibly be serious. It couldn’t be that easy. 

“I am serious,” he affirmed. “I don’t have a lot of money but I know a lot of people. I will do what I can to see you through because Betsy would have wanted that.” 

Tory nodded, biting her lip and biting back her tears. She wouldn’t start crying at this old man’s offer. She had always looked out for herself before now. She wasn’t sure she trusted that anyone else could do it better. 

“I wasn’t trying to make you cry,” Kreese said, uncrossing his arms. “Come here?” 

Tory very nearly told him no thanks. Something forced herself to her feet and she accepted his offer of a hug. She wasn’t sure what made her do it. Maybe hope? Hope that someone in her life actually did care and would stand up for her and protect her and help her deal with all the mess she had to live with. 

Kreese stood and hugged her warmly. The hug was brief and he let her go. Tory let herself back down into her office chair. 

“So tell me about the jerks at the mall?” Kreese said. 

*** 

A week later a new student joined Cobra Kai. He was tall, muscular, and someone Tory had met before. Ashton was a threat. 

Sensei had a few students go up against the new recruit to test him. Too soon, it was Tory’s turn. She would not show her fear about fighting Ash. She wouldn’t let the others know how much it sickened her to be this close to him. Tory decided she would simply have to win. She would have to hurt him and make sure he never repeated his past transgressions again. Except Ashton was not new to Karate. He had studied under a different Sensei who was now retired. All too quickly Ash threw her down to the floor and pinned her down with the weight of his body. The fear at being caught like this by him reached her eyes. 

“Get up!” Kreese barked, in one of the harshest tones he had ever used. 

Ash wasn’t quick to move. He was grinning at his victory and he was pressing against Tory in a way that was entirely inappropriate for a karate match. 

Kreese didn’t wait for compliance. He moved forward and pulled Ash off of her, kicking him backwards in the chest as soon as the kid was semi-upright. Ash stumbled back and tried to take up a defensive stance but not before Kreese had kicked him a second time against the wall. 

“Get out of my dojo,” Kreese told him almost calmly. All the students watching were very confused about this. Sensei had always allowed unfair fights and had accepted new recruits who could beat one of the team. Why was he angry now? 

“But Sensei, I beat her…” he protested, still confident he could prove himself. “I can fight someone else if you don’t trust my skills.” 

“It’s not your skills that I take issue with, it’s your behavior. Get out.” 

Ash stomped out of the dojo in anger. 

Tory was still on the floor and was reeling from what had just happened. Ash hadn’t actually harmed her this time as much as last time they had met. It was the memories, it was being up close to him that had caused this moment of fear. She looked around the room and saw that the team were already staring at her. 

“Is she crying?” One of them whispered. 

Tory touched her face and found moisture there. Shit. She was crying and hadn’t even realized it and now everyone had seen. She looked down at herself, her hands were shaking, her whole body was trembling. In truth she was a wreck and everyone had seen her like this. Tory got to her feet with every intention of taking off out the front door. But Ash had gone out the same way. He might even be nearby waiting for her. 

“In my office, Tory!” Kreese commanded. 

Tory did as bidden. Kreese had never called an offending student to his office that she was aware of. She caught brief looks of pity on the faces of the others. Kreese followed her into the office and slammed the door shut behind them. She turned to face him, unsure what to expect. 

“Did that boy hurt you?” He asked. 

“No. Not this time,” she crossed her arms across herself protectively. 

Kreese softened his stance. “But he did hurt you before?” 

She nodded, struggling to remain strong. 

“Never again,” he said firmly and he crossed the room to hug her. “Never again.” 

Tory allowed herself to cry this time, to really cry while he held her. It was the first time she had done so in years but somehow her grandfather felt like a safe place to cry. Yes, he was harsh sometimes but he had protected her three times now. Once with the landlord, again with the mall jerks, and from Ash just now. She hadn’t believed him at first when he had offered to be there for her and some part of her still held mistrust but for now, being hugged by the man who had gotten rid of Ash, meant a great deal to her. 

It took a while before her sobs ended and she was able to stop shaking and her grandfather remained with her through it all. When he stepped back to let her go, she was exhausted and had a moment of worry that he would punish her now for not winning the fight. 

“Stay in here for the rest of the lesson,” he told her and turned and walked away. “Can’t have the others see you crying. I won’t tell.” 

“Where’s Tory?” Tory heard one of the students ask as Sensei rejoined them. 

“She’s sitting out this lesson,” Kreese said her in a tone that implied it was a punishment. 

Tory got herself a cup of coffee from the office coffee pot and drank it at the desk, thankful that her grandfather had given her a chance to recover in peace. 

When they practice was over and the students had left, Kreese returned to the office. 

“I called a buddy of mine yesterday who has a daughter that’s a social worker. They’re gonna find a home health nurse for low income disabled people to help take care of your mom,” He told her. “They have government social programs for that sort of thing.” 

“What?” She breathed the word. She hadn’t even known such a thing was possible. 

“They also have programs to help pay the rent and they are gonna get you into one of those.”

“You don’t have to do all this for me.” She said. 

“Maybe not, but I still will.” 

Tory shook her head. “That’s not how life works. People don’t just give each other stuff. If we want it, we have to fight for it.” 

“Most times we do have to fight for it. You know better than most about the need to strike first but that only applies to your enemies,” Kreese explained. “I am not your enemy.” 

***

Tory found herself pinned on the floor in the mall again a month later. She hated Samantha Larusso. Hated her. She hadn’t set out to fight Sam on finding her in the mall. It had just happened. The bitch was asking for it. The only pleasure she took in any of this was Sam’s bloody nose. Then footsteps came around the corner in the food court and she recognized Sam’s dad coming towards them. 

“Your Dad is here to rescue you,” Tory spat the words at Sam. Now that Daniel was here it was all gonna go to hell. She would probably get arrested before it was over. Her probation officer would not let this go. 

“Sam, are you okay?” Daniel said, no concern at all for Tory’s bloody lip or the fact that Sam was still standing and Tory was the one on the floor. 

“Yeah Dad,” Sam took a step back. 

“Did she hurt you?” Daniel continued and then took out his cell phone without waiting for a reply from Sam. “I’m calling the police.” 

“You had better rethink that call,” Kreese stepped in behind Daniel. 

Tory let out a sigh of relief. She had texted her grandfather twenty minutes earlier when she realized Sam was in the mall. She hadn’t known that he would come for her. 

“You called your Sensei?” Sam said, annoyed. 

Daniel had taken a defensive stance. “This has gotta stop Kreese, your students attacking my students. I’m calling the police. Tory needs to be in jail.” 

“She’s not going to jail, Larusso,” he said. “I’m not letting you make that call.” 

“Since when do you fight on behalf of your students?” Daniel asked, confused. “Tory lost the fight. I thought in Cobra Kai only the strong survive.” 

“Tory, come over here?” Kreese uncrossed his arms and reached out a hand to her. 

Tory went to him and saw Daniel’s moment of worry that she would be punished by her Sensei for her weakness. Kreese put an arm around her but she just hugged him in response..

“It’s true, in Cobra Kai only the strong survive. In family though, the pack survives together. Anyone who dares lay a finger on my granddaughter again will have to answer to me.” 

“Your granddaughter?” Daniel asked. 

“That explains a lot,” Sam piped up. 

“You have got to be shitting me,” Daniel continued. “So that’s why Tory has been trying to kill Sam all this time. You kept this all going as some sort of family feud.” 

Tory knew that wasn’t true. Her fight with Samantha Larusso had begun long before she knew Sensei was her grandfather. “He didn’t do anything! It was Sam who started all this.” 

“Regardless of who started it, it’s going to end the next time anyone sheds my granddaughter’s blood,” Kreese said.

“Are you threatening my daughter?” Daniel continued. 

Kreese shook his head. “Larusso, you are always so determined to misunderstand. It’s blood for blood. You or one of your damn kids gives my Tory a bloody nose or breaks her arm, expect the same in return, on you, not on the kids. Nothing more and nothing less.” 

At that Larusso backed down and exited the mall, taking Sam with him, and muttering and swearing as he went. Tory realized she was still hugging her grandfather but she didn’t have it in her to care. No one had ever done anything like this for her before. Sam was probably used to having Daddy come and save her from the big bad bullies but Tory had never experienced having a parent or a grandparent interfere on her behalf. This was a first and it felt good. 

“Thank you,” she told him as she watched Sam and her Dad leave. 

Sam glanced back just in time to see Kreese kiss her on the forehead. Sam made a face of disgust and Tory wanted to laugh, really laugh for the first time in ages. So this was what it felt like when someone cared about you? It was an amazing feeling. Tory wasn’t going to let it go. Not ever.


End file.
